The University of Houston’s consistent play held off A&M’s sporadic offense and helped the Cougars hold on for a 9-6 win Tuesday night at Olsen Field.
Though A&M scored first, Houston took control of the contest right away. In the fourth inning, Cougar’s Josh Stirneman and Luis Flores both hit home runs to increase Houston’s lead to 4-1. They tacked on another run in the fifth, making it a 5-1 ballgame.
A&M mounted a comeback with four runs in the fifth inning to tie the game at 5-5. But Houston head coach Rayner Noble said that the Cougars responded well after the Aggies evened the score.
“When we were even five to five, we just stayed with it,” he said. “I was really proud of that because a lot of teams would have folded.”
Houston didn’t miss a beat after the A&M rally, as it answered in the sixth inning by scoring three more runs. The capper came on Flores’ two-run homer, his second of the night.
“He’s (Flores) swinging the bat really well right now,” said Noble. “He just drilled them.”
Flores saw the situation differently, but he was still proud of his performance.
“I just got lucky. I just went up there and hit,” he said. “It was unbelievable. We put up 14 hits, and we’ve been hitting the ball pretty well.”
Cougar Jake Stewart also scored in the sixth on an RBI single from Isa Garcia. Stewart’s score put Houston up 8-5. After the offensive explosion in the early innings, both bullpens settled down to only give up one more run apiece.
A&M head coach Rob Childress said that he was proud of his team even though it is struggling right now.
“Our guys fought tonight, and they competed. I felt like there was some swagger at the plate, and there were some good at bats. Our guys are competing, and that’s all that I can ask for,” he said.
For A&M, the loss marked the 11th loss in the last 12 games and the Aggies’ seventh in a row.